Open-source cost savings: The video (director's cut)

Open source delivers significant cost savings, and the market is taking notice: IDC has significantly revised upwards its estimates of global revenue from open-source software. IDC now expects worldwide open-source revenue to grow at a 22.4 percent compound annual growth rate to top $8.1 billion by 2013.

That's a lot of money for free stuff.

The reasons, as I wrote on Wednesday, are clear: open source delivers increased flexibility, improved performance, vendor independence, and, yes, cost savings. According to Computerworld UK, London Paper reports saving 66 percent by using an open-source CMS (Drupal). The Gap, meanwhile, dumped Windows for Red Hat offerings to save money and improve platform flexibility.

Open source: it's what the smart CIOs are using.

But you don't have to take my word for it. Sigurd Magnusson, co-founder of open-source Web content management company SilverStripe, recorded the "Beyond the Hype: The True Costs of Open Source" session at OSCON last week, which he has graciously shared here:

So, yes, you could waste your IT budget on expensive, "sustaining innovations" from old-school vendors. Or you could buy best-of-breed open-source solutions at 10 percent of the cost.

It's your money, after all. Well, unless you give it all to your vendor.